Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: ryan vandenbussche

Now I’m not advocating that pro hockey stars become shut-ins. NHLers have as much of a right as anyone to go out and down a couple pops at the local watering hole, but a recently closed court case provides a very good lesson for players; in the wrong situation, you will be the target for any lunkhead who wants to prove he’s tougher than Mr. Fancy NHL Man. Knowing what kind of environment you’re putting yourself in is a key personal and professional decision.

Two summers ago, on July 3, 2006, former Pittsburgh Penguins enforcer Ryan VandenBussche was out at a notorious roadhouse-style bar in Turkey Point, Ont., a resort town on Lake Ontario. VandenBussche was partying with, among other friends, his cousin. When a brawl at the bar spilled out into the parking lot – as is apparently frequent at this establishment – VandenBussche leapt to the defense of his cousin.

A former NHL enforcer is expected to find out Friday whether he’ll be jailed in connection with a brawl outside a southern Ontario hotel in 2006 that resulted in him being Tasered three times and pepper sprayed.

Ryan VandenBussche faces three charges of assaulting police and one charge of uttering a death threat.

His lawyer claimed he could not be held responsible for his actions because of a head injury that legally rendered him a “non-insane automaton.”

The verdict will be made public shortly and we’ll add it to this post.

However, Comper said that VandenBussche’s story “hangs together perfectly” with someone experiencing “post-traumatic amnesia” and with his history of hockey-related concussions, going back to age 12.

Smith also suggested that VandenBussche, who testified Thursday he was on medically prescribed steroids at the time of the incident, “slanted” his responses during the interview to avoid a criminal conviction.

Comper, however, said he found VandenBussche “quite naïve about concussions and what it meant.” Commenting on hockey enforcers, Comper said: “The behaviour you see on the ice typically does not carry over off the ice.”

Earlier in the day, NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell testified as a character witness for VandenBussche.